Jennifer Crumbley's trial: 'Every single' page of shooter's journal referenced school shootings
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Every page of the Oxford High School shooter's journal referenced school shootings, and dozens of school assignments had drawings of guns on them, according to testimony during Jennifer Crumbley's trial.
Oakland County Sheriff's Office Lt. Timothy Willis, the officer in charge of the shooting investigation, arrived at the school just after the Nov. 30, 2021 shooting. During Jennifer's trial, he described what was found in the shooter's backpack, along with what investigators feared they might find.
Oxford shooter's journal referenced shootings repeatedly
After the shooting, the shooter's backpack was found inside a bathroom. Inside that backpack were about 90 loose pieces of paper and school assignments, along with a journal.
"Over 50 (pieces of paper) had drawings of firearms on them," Willis said.
The journal was full of writings about school shootings.
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"There was approximately 22 pages of written information in the journal," Willis said.
When the prosecution asked Willis how many pages referenced school shootings, he said "every single one."
The shooter's journal had previously been shown as evidence in court, but testimony Thursday went into more detail.
Entries in that journal include mentions that the shooter's parents, Jennifer and James Crumbely, didn't listen to him about needing help or a therapist.
The shooter also wrote about his plans the night before the shooting, saying that he had the gun and the shooting would be the next day.
"I have access to the gun and the ammo. I am fully committed to this now. So, yeah, I'm going to prison for life, and many people have about one day left to live," he wrote.
In addition to the writings, Willis said there were drawings of weapons and ammo in the journal.
Jennifer Crumbley trial: Detectives feared explosives in school after shooting
A detective lieutenant with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said a K-9 detected some sort of explosive in the shooter's backpack following the Oxford High shooting, prompting the Michigan State Police bomb squad to bring in a robot.
Investigators feared explosives were inside school
Investigators feared the Oxford High School shooter may have placed explosives inside the building, based on his writings and a video.
"There came a video from YouTube of him deploying a Molotov cocktail," Willis said. "There was also a journal with written passages in it that described secondary devices."
A K-9 from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office was brought in to check the school.
"An explosive K-9 alerted on the backpack that was found in the bathroom," Willis said. "It could be a legitimate explosive, it could be a firearm, it could be ammunition."
The Michigan State Police Bomb Squad was then called. They deployed a robot and determined that there were no explosives in the bag.
What is Jennifer Crumbley charged with?
Jennifer Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each student killed by her son at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.
Her husband, James Crumbley, is also facing the same charges and is expected to go to trial after Jennifer's trial is complete.
What did Jennifer Crumbley do?
The prosecution argues that Jennifer and James ignored their son's mental health and even bought him a gun before the Oxford High School shooting.
Jennifer's attorney maintains that her client knew nothing about guns and was not involved in purchasing the weapon. Receipts provided in court show that James bought the gun, and the shooter admitted during his plea hearing that he gave James money to buy the firearm. Video from a gun range showed Jennifer shooting a gun with her son, but her lawyer claims she didn't know what she was doing.
Journal entries detailing the shooter's mental state have been presented in court, but Jennifer's defense argues that there is no evidence Jennifer knew about this writing.
Witnesses called by the prosecution during the trial have also described a meeting between the Crumbley parents and school officials the morning of the shooting. The parents were called after violent drawings were discovered on their son's schoolwork.
During this meeting, a school counselor told the parents to get their son mental health help as soon as possible and recommended that they take him home from school. However, the parents chose not to take him home.
Jennifer Crumbley's trial so far
Read recaps of each day of testimony below:
Day 1: Oxford teacher, assistant principal testify
Day 2: Messages between shooter, parents shown
Day 3: Parents' first police interview shown
Day 4: Ex-Oxford High School dean questioned, Crumbley's colleagues testify
Day 5: Extramarital affair revealed, arrest video shown